xp_logs | Madin & Mel

xp_aero posting in

MnM have a fall picnic and discuss local fauna.

Autumn had begun it’s grip on the mansion, and with that came an air of anticipation. The cooling temperatures and turning leaves hinting at harsher times to come. For now, though, it was perfectly picturesque.

The day was clear and bright and crisp, and Mel soaked it all in as she laid out the blanket at the edge of the woods. She grinned at her companion. “Nice day fer this ain’t it?”

Madin put the picnic basket down at the edge of the blanket. "Okay, seriously, this is fancy."

“Really? I reckon this is about as un-fancy as you can get.” Eating outside with a packed lunch was hardly expensive, high effort maybe. Mel floated down to sit, patting the space on the blanket next to her. “C’mon.”

"There's a basket. A blanket. You made lunch. It's fancy." Madin sat, boots off the rug.

“It was no trouble at all.” Nevermind the time she’d spent panicking over every detail. “I jus’ like spendin’ time with you.”

Mel dug around in the basket and pulled out a bottle of rosé, some cider, two glasses, sandwiches, and various snacks to spread out on the blanket. She opened the bottle with a pop. “Cheers!”

Madin gave her another smile, pulling out the two wine glasses, holding them one in each hand so Mel could pour without them tipping over. Yeah, probably definitely a date.

"Cheers!"

Clinking her glass against Madin’s, Mel took a sip with a bit of a self satisfied grin. It all looked so aesthetic it could’ve been from Pinterest. Good job her. She leaned against an elbow and opened the bag of chips. “So, what’ve you been up to? Besides being all superhero-like, that is,” was asked, half teasing.

Madin coughed on their wine, sitting up straight away from Mel. "Glargh." They spluttered for a moment longer, eyes watering. Finally, they said "Nothing much. I don't even super hero! The team has been out and I haven't gone with them."

"You alright?" Mel pulled a bottle of water out of the basket, which seemed to have everything and anything, and set it down near them. “Ah, well, yer other job is pretty heroic as well, helpin’ keep this place up an’ runnin’,” she said, nodding toward the mansion.

"Oh my god! Do you know someone just pulled three doors off their hinges and squished the handles? So obviously it's someone with super strength which is like, four people full time, or Hope but they flattened the handles? Who does that? And someone else planted mint and apparently that's all invaaaasive or some shit, I don't know. I don't do plants. I just do what Julio tells me there. And the pavers on the back path apparently need levelling end of every summer because the sand washes out in the rain and then there's all the plumbing. I swear to god, people here."

Mel watched them rant fondly. “No shit? That’s a lot darlin’. Yer doin’ a pretty swell job of it all.”

"They break so much stuff Mel! So much! You have no idea. And the new girl fully fucked up the chapel. Like, shit is fuuuucked over there."

“M’sure everyone appreciates you fixin’ up after ‘em. Old place like this everything’s liable to break.”

Now probably wasn’t the time to mention how busted her screen was from all the times she’d removed it to fly out her window.

A furry head watched the pair from a tree, bushy tail wrapped around the trunk. The squirrel eyed the food, perhaps calculating if it could safely steal some away.

Madin was going to continue, entering into kitchen crimes when the movement caught their eyes. "Mel. Look."

“Hm?” Mel stopped her staring long enough to catch sight of their visitor. “Oh, a boomer. Cute little fellow.”

"He's so cute. What do they eat?"

“Ummmm” Mel tried to think back to whatever they’d taught about local wildlife in biology. “Nuts, seeds, berries, insects I think. Whatever they can get their paws on. It’ll be storing up for winter now.” She paused. “Do y’all not have squirrels down under?”

Moving slowly, Madin picked up a strawberry and a cracker, tossing both onto the grass for the squirrel. "Here you go baby." To Mel, they said "nah. We don't have them."

A sappy grin crept onto Mel’s face, completely endeared. “That’s a shame. They’re awful funny, when they’re not tearing up the garden.” And tasty, too.

The squirrel slowly crept down to sniff at the offerings, before taking the berry in its tiny paws and nibbling.

Madin watched it eat. They might as well have been doing heart eyes. "It's eating it," they whispered. "You'd think I'd be used to them now but fuck I love squirrels and raccoons." They gave Mel a slightly sappy smile.

Mel was utterly whipped, christ. She had to fight back the urge to giggle at how cute it all was. “A lot nicer vermin than the big spiders and what not y’all get, yeah.”

"You have bears." Madin shook their head. "People are like 'spiders will kill you' and you have bears. You have to carry bearspray. Bearspray." The squirrel ran at the indignation in Madin's voice. "You have to have special camping bins so bears don't literally eat you."

She laughed. “A bar ain’t liable to be in ma house. The ones ‘round here are timid creatures, jus’ lookin’ t’steal yer trash. A polecat’ll do more damage than a bar or a cougar.”

Madin flopped backwards. "What the fuck is a pole cat?" they asked the sky.

“Suppose you would know it as a skunk,” came the reply from on high. Mel laid her head on the grass and let out a puff of air.

"Like Pepe le Pew? Babe. Skunks aren't real."

“Who?” She turned her head to look at them incredulously. “An’ they are. I would know, I’ve had to scrub the smell off the littles more times than I would’ve liked.”

"What the fuck? Like, actually real? Nah. This is some drop bear shit."

“They are! Would I lie to you?” Mel pulled out her phone to pull up a picture to show Madin. “Look at this. They’re all cute but they’re evil.”

Madin lofted their head to look. "Yeah, people say that about drop bears, too. And then they get eaten. Oooh, lemme guess. Bunyips gonna come eat you, next. "

Mel flicked their arm playfully. “No, but skunk ape might come an’ get you fer disrespectin’ his kin.”

"See? Now I know they're not real. Skunk ape." Madin ignored the niggling doubts. They'd been caught out before.

“Thinkin’ like that is how he gets you,” Mel teased, leaning over to peck their cheek. “It’s okay darlin’, I’ll get you some tomato juice when they enact their revenge.”

"Tomato juice. This is how I know you're having me on." Madin kissed her back.

“Live in yer ignorance. It’s only a matter of time now.” She reached out for a hand. Who said she couldn’t try and be romantic while arguing about skunks.